📚Attempted to summarise 4 years of work on Political Party Think Tanks in 3 pages! 👇 🧠 Ideal for anyone who wants to learn more about the Brains Behind the Party without having to read an entire dissertation. 🙏 Many thanks to @bramwauters.bsky.social for the review!

📢📖🧠 My final PhD paper is out! In this article, I trace the evolution of the oldest PPTTs in Flanders (Belgium), showing how they moved from being party intellectuals to becoming party assistants.

Can party think tanks help politics slow down and think long-term? @brittvandewalle.bsky.social explores how autonomy and public funding shape the role of Political Party Think Tanks. Read more: buff.ly/RLOCZve @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com #polsky #polsci #ECRs

Portugal is having a presidential election tomorrow (Sunday). It is a fairly unusual one, which is representative of how much the political landscape has changed in the country. Here is some quick context about it, in case that is of interest: 1/9

Onverschilligheid speelt autocraten in de hand, ziet Daan Roovers. Om onze democratisch ingerichte samenleving overeind te houden, is het volgens haar essentieel dat alle burgers zich ermee bemoeien.

Visualized here. Hot tip for journalists: the real question isn’t why Wilders lost, but why the far right has consolidated — despite Wilders's ineffectiveness in government.

And the growth of the FvD should be seen as very concerning, given the extreme right nature of the party. In addition to its problematic stances, lets not forget that one of its MPs was convicted for incitement to violence

With the official prognosis giving one additional seat to PVV and one to FvD compared to the ext poll, the narrative should really not be that the Netherlands/Jetten has beaten the radical right. The far right bloc remains remarkably stable.

Dringend advies aan alle duiders vanavond: de verkiezingsuitslag is geen bingo-avond. Winst voor radicaal- en extreemrechts (PVV, FvD, JA21, BBB) is geen gewoon verkiezingsfeit, maar een alarmsignaal. Het betekent meer haat, meer uitsluiting en een verdere afbraak van de democratie. Benoem dat.

Ready to rumble! Live commentary on exit poll and results with @tomwgvdmeer.bsky.social and yours truly from 8.30 PM till very late on NPO1

Ready for an interesting debate! What would The Hague and Brussels look like in 4 years if the far-right wins today’s elections? 🇳🇱🇪🇺 @studioeuropa.bsky.social

The ballots are, in fact, huge.

Let ook op de duiding van @mrooduijn.bsky.social @marikenvelden.bsky.social @roderikrekker.bsky.social @leoniedejonge.bsky.social @casmudde.bsky.social @twanhuijsmans.bsky.social @eelcoharteveld.bsky.social @zahrarunderkamp.bsky.social @lizamugge.bsky.social @sbvanoosten.bsky.social

Voor de beste duiding staan vandaag en morgen overal politicologen tot uw dienst. Het zijn net pokemons, volg ze allemaal

De kans is groot dat de radicaal-rechtse partij van Geert Wilders volgende week de grootste wordt. Opnieuw. Hoe speelt Wilders dat klaar? ‘Hij slaagt er altijd in om het over zijn thema’s te laten gaan’, zegt de Nederlandse politicologe Sarah de Lange.

Can party think tanks help politics slow down and think long-term? @brittvandewalle.bsky.social explores how autonomy and public funding shape the role of Political Party Think Tanks. Read more: buff.ly/GokRQ7T @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com #polsky #polsci #ECRs

😅 You’re welcome, Emilie! Glad my bear spray could go to good use. Just remember: for wilderness use only, not APSA panels!🐻 #apsa2025

Can party think tanks help politics slow down and think long-term? @brittvandewalle.bsky.social explores how autonomy and public funding shape the role of Political Party Think Tanks. Read more: buff.ly/ZGxhbGR @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com #polsky #polsci #ECRs

I want to thank all the participants for their engagement, the inspiring discussions, sharing their new research, and discussing new potential collaborations! Shout out to the amazing organisers as well @fscolli.bsky.social, @brittvandewalle.bsky.social and @iskanderdebruycker.bsky.social🙏

Can party think tanks help politics slow down and think long-term? @brittvandewalle.bsky.social explores how autonomy and public funding shape the role of Political Party Think Tanks. Read more: buff.ly/ZGxhbGR @polstudiesassoc.bsky.social @uoypolitics.bsky.social @sagepub.com #polsky #polsci #ECRs

¿Hola, Madrid? 🌞🇪🇸 #EPSA2025

ACCESS4ALL goes Madrid! 🇪🇸 💃🏻 We are presenting two papers on Thursday June 26 at the #EPSA Conference: 1️⃣ Who are the Lobbyists? Presented at 9h30 in 1A.03 2️⃣ Bias of Bifurcation? Gendered Patterns of Lobbying Access between Interest Groups and MEPs Presented at 16h50 in 0A.08 Be there or be square!

😍My first single-authored article just got published in @polstudies.bsky.social. I am so excited about this one! In this article, I discuss how Political Party Think Tanks (PPTTs) help parties to transcend daily political pressures, and focus on long-term political thinking and policy development

✨ Conference szn has started ✨ 1️⃣ Together with Ida Hobma, Joost Berkhout, we organised the #Poletmaal2025 panel on Interest Representation in Groningen. We want to thank all participants for their excellent contributions and the interesting discussions. It was good to (re)connect!

Partijstudiediensten – 'de hersenen achter de partij' 🧠 – stonden de voorbije dagen weer even in de spotlights. Enkele reflecties hierbij 👇🧵 www.tijd.be/politiek-eco...

Presented the first draft of the first paper of my postdoc project at the @ecpr-ead.bsky.social conference at @qmpoliticsir.bsky.social! Special thanks to @profannikawerner.bsky.social for the insightful feedback and to @simonotjes.bsky.social , @robert-a-huber.bsky.social for the valuable input

🔐 Day 2 of our #OpenScience Summer School @gasparugent.bsky.social zoomed in on... preregistration ! Why? When? How? And... what if I mess up? We tackled it with hands-on exercises and open, honest conversations. 🧵Thread below #Reproducibility #PhDlife #OpenScienceInSocSci

We wrapped up Day 2 with some hands-on fun: 🔍 Spotted flaws in vague prereg items 🧐 Reviewed my working paper for prereg slip-ups (yes, that was a bit selfish 🙃)—a great way to learn how to review prereg’d work! 📄 Explored both the default & qualitative @OSFramework templates together.

Geert Wilders PVV leaves Dutch government coalition, resulting in fall of cabinet Schoof

Super proud of @larboe.bsky.social first article, in which she, together with @nathaliebrack.bsky.social @mrooduijn.bsky.social and myself, shows that far-right parties in the European Parliament increasingly embrace illiberal ideas

Het academisch systeem is niet rot, maar kan wel wat bijsturing gebruiken. Nieuwe column @sampolmaandblad.bsky.social waarin ik vraag dat professoren (terug) wat meer verantwoording afleggen. Ik maak me er allicht niet populair mee, maar moest toch even gezegd worden www.sampol.be/2025/04/het-...

⌛⏰ Only 5 days left to apply for the ECPR Workshop of the Standing Group on Interest Groups! Submit your abstract here: ecpr.eu/Events/327

Two weeks left to apply for a post-doctoral position in my project on social cleavages and political party competition in Europe. Thanks for helping me alert interested researchers!

Are you a parent, and an early career scholar? Are you going to #EPSA? I'm thinking of organizing an event on #parenting and #academia at EPSA. Are you interested? Drop me an email. I'm looking for "partners in crime".

‼️🔔📣Call for proposals 📣🔔‼️ Researching interest groups in these turbulent times? And do you want to discover the ‘Tuscany of the Low Countries’ this summer?🌞 Then this workshop is for you! ecpr.eu/Events/327

Having published a book recently, I found it sometimes hard to understand how the process worked (and luckily, had very kind mentors who helped). I have uploaded a short document detailing how my experience went, in case others find it helpful: www.vicentevalentim.com/_files/ugd/a...

Vaak breek ik mijn tong als ik uitleg wat een wetenschappelijk bureau van een politieke partij nou eigenlijk is. Maar nu heb ik hem! ‘Wij zijn de brains behind the party’ 🤗 Dank @brittvandewalle.bsky.social! En gefeliciteerd met je proefschrift 💪🏼

Political Party Think Tanks (PPTTs) perform a wide variety of roles. In this article, we develop a categorisation of their roles based on interview material of all 22 PPTTs in the Netherlands 🇳🇱 and Flanders 🇧🇪 We find that there are notable differences between these 2 party systems, but also within 👇

⏰Another opening for a PhD position in our (w @morganwack.bsky.social and @esserfrank.bsky.social ) SNF project on political social media influencers! 🥳 If you are into computational methods, social media, and political communcation, we are looking for you 🔎 All details here: tinyurl.com/44arrawh

Interested in pursuing a PhD in comparative politics (institutions, behaviour, representation, parties)? We have a four-year position at our department, with great conditions, lots of freedom and a reasonable teaching load. Get in touch if you have questions! jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi...

JOIN 2025 MethodsNET Summer School with Central European University (CEU) 📍 Central European University, Vienna 🗓️ 30 June to 18 July 2025 The full course list is online!! More details: bit.ly/4gLbv9V Early Bird Registration: Early February, 2025 #research #researchmethods #methodology #methods

(7) Because the best way to explore a new subject is probably to talk with experts and professionals, any suggestions for people to contact with respect to this topic are more than welcome!

This month I'm starting the research for my new project funded by the Dutch Research Council (NWO-Veni)! Why Is Sexual Violence Still Not a Man’s Problem? Comparing Post #MeToo Policy and Awareness Training in the Dutch and French Cultural Sectors Some info on this four-year project👇(1) #gendersky

2024 was the year in which I watched @brittvandewalle.bsky.social Nick Martin and @twanhuijsmans.bsky.social defend their PhD dissertations, and in which Linet Dumursoglu and Laura Mulder successgully submitted theirs. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing your PhD students thrive.

⚠️ Six-year position at our department - work in lovely Vienna with a friendly team, 2 classes a term, and follow/develop your own research agenda. Feel free to ask me questions you might have. Deadline 24/01/25 jobs.univie.ac.at/job/Universi...

📣 🔔 Happy to share our publication in European View, where Steven Van Hecke and I mapped PPTTs in EU member states. Reach out if you are interested in the extended the PhD chapter based on this article! journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

I defended my PhD dissertation on ‘The Brains Behind the Party’ 🧠 and I am over the moon! 🌙 Drop me a message if you want to discuss research on Political Party Think Tanks! Dr. B 👩🏻‍🎓

Congratulations to @brittvandewalle.bsky.social on an excellent PhD defense! 🎉 Looking forward to collaborating with you on the #ACCESS4ALL project at @fasosmaastricht.bsky.social —exciting times ahead!

On my way to KU Leuven, where @brittvandewalle.bsky.social will defend her PhD on Political Party Think Tanks. For part of her findings, see www.cambridge.org/core/journal...